A Dragon in Hollywood
by The Evil Author
Summary: During the first season of Angel, Angel helps the latest arrivals to Los Angeles: a girl and her Dragon.
1. Arrival

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (1/?)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
"Hi, Doyle," Cordelia greeted smartly as she came in for  
work. "What's new?"  
  
"Ow."  
  
Cordelia noted that Doyle was slumped in a chair, holding  
his head like he had a headache. "Is that supposed to be  
an answer?" Cordelia asked as she sat down at her desk  
and booted up her computer. There was supposed to be some  
stuff Angel had asked her to file away on it. Cordy didn't  
have a clue how to do it, but Angel had insisted she learn  
how to use a computer. Of all the nerve! She was just his  
secretary, not some hacker like Willow. "'cause if it is,"  
she continued to Doyle, "you're being incredibly rude."  
  
"Ow."  
  
"Now, how do you use this thing?" Cordelia said, examining  
some weird doohickey that was attached to the computer by  
a long cord. "I know!" Picking the doohickey up, she  
pointed it at the computer monitor and pressed a button.  
Nothing. "Hey, it's broken," she said disappointed. "Angel  
got a raw deal on this thing, Doyle."  
  
"Ow."  
  
"How am I supposed to use this thing if it's...hey!" Cordy  
snatched a pen and notepad from Doyle's hands. "Did you  
ask if you could take these things from my desk? No you  
did not! You really need to learn some manners, Doyle!"  
  
"Ow."  
  
***  
  
The world pressed in around them, narrowed down to a  
slender tunnel that threatened to become too small to  
permit their passage. Behind them, the fireball created by  
Navaros' death raged after them, undisipated by the tunnel  
walls.  
  
The dragon was concentrating on outracing the fireball.  
He flapped his wings as fast as he could, ignoring the  
instinct that was telling him he was flying straight down  
and was about to hit the ground. In this place, there was  
no ground.  
  
To the girl on the dragon's back, the fireball didn't  
matter. Nothing mattered at all.  
  
***  
  
"What are we doing out here?" Angel asked.  
  
"Rescuin' damsels in distress," Doyle replied, taking a  
swig from a whiskey bottle. It was for the after-vision  
pain, he claimed. "It's what you do, remember?"  
  
"What damsels? There's no one out here but us." Angel  
waved a hand at the surroundings. Except for them, Angel's  
convertible, and the big honkin' Hollywood sign just below  
them, the hilltop was pretty much bare.  
  
"But there will be," Doyle said confidently, "at precisely  
9:17pm."  
  
"It's that time now," Angel said, showing him his watch.  
  
"Your watch is fast."  
  
"Maybe by a minute," Angel admitted, "but it should take  
longer than that to get up here. What is she going to do?  
Fall out of the sky?"  
  
Thunder drowned out any reply Doyle might have made.  
Looking up, Angel saw a vortex rip open in the sky. He  
knew what it was because he distinctly remembered falling  
through one a long time ago.  
  
A winged figure flew out of the vortex, seemingly  
propelled by a brilliant white fireball. As the vortex  
closed up, the winged figure halted its headlong flight  
just short of crashing into the hillside. It set down  
gently next to the Hollywood sign.  
  
"That's a...that's a..." Angel stammered, totally amazed  
at what he was seeing. In all of his two hundred and  
fortyfour years, he had never seen a dragon before. He  
turned to Doyle. "That's a damsel?"  
  
"Oh, no," Doyle answered. He seemed as surprised as Angel.  
"I think it's the lassie climbing off it's back. By the  
way, it is now _exactly_ 9:17pm."  
  
***  
  
"Rynn, I think we're safe," Arokh told his passenger.  
Through the soul-bond they shared, he could feel the  
girl's grief. As a dragon, he could not quite comprehend  
the depth of grief Rynn was feeling; it was a human thing.  
  
Rynn climbed off Arokh's back and immediately broke down  
in tears. For all his size and power, Arokh felt  
inadequate. Much as he wanted to, he had no idea how to  
comfort her. So he fell back on old habits and old  
training.  
  
Raising his head, Arokh studied his surroundings, looking  
for any familiar landmarks. He was on a hillside, next to  
some kind of row of giant symbols. The symbols were in no  
language he knew, brightly illuminated by a row of  
smokeless torches that glowed steadily and brightly. The  
sky was cloudcovered and dark, so it was probably night.  
And in the plain below the hill...  
  
Arokh let out a puff of fire in shock.  
  
Lights. Lots of lights. It was as if someone had taken the  
stars out of the sky and laid them out in neat geometric  
patterns. They stretched as far as he could see. And  
some...many of those lights moved.  
  
"Arokh?" Rynn asked, his shock cutting through her grief.  
"What is it?"  
  
Arokh turned his head to Rynn. Before he could speak, a  
movement in the dark caught his eye. Someone was sneaking  
up on them!  
  
With a low roar, Arohk let out a jet of flame.  
  
***  
  
Not quite knowing what the score was, Angel had opted for  
the stealthy approach. He'd see what he could learn before  
introducing himself. While he was a good fighter, he  
didn't fancy his chances against a twenty foot dragon.  
  
The girl was down on the ground, crying her heart out. It  
wasn't in fear of the dragon. It looked more like grief.  
Angel was all too familiar with both types of tears. He  
had caused enough of both in the past.  
  
The girl was a slender red head, her waist length hair  
tied back in a ponytail. She wore some sort of dark, form-  
fitting suit.  
  
The dragon, well illuminated by the nearby lights, had  
deep red scales, a long serpentine neck, and wings neatly  
folded at its sides. Angel wondered if the dragon...  
  
He dropped to the ground as a bright flame jetted at him.  
  
...breathed fire. Luckily, the flame jet ended well short  
of Angel. Otherwise, he would have been so much ash.  
  
"Who's out there!" the girl shouted as she scrambled to  
her feet. As she did so, she reached behind her back and  
pulled the biggest sword Angel had ever seen from out of  
nowhere. It shone with magic; little blue streamers of  
light coursed up and down the sword's length. "Show  
yourself!"  
  
So much for stealth.  
  
Angel slowly stood up, hands raised in what he hoped would  
be interpreted as nonthreatening. "Ah...hello?"  
  
***  
  
A human!  
  
Rynn lowered the Runeblade, embarrased and angry at  
herself. She had been prepared to attack a human. That  
just drove home to her just how inadequate she really was.  
The stranger was an oddly dressed man in a dark longcoat.  
In another state of mind, she would have thought him  
handsome.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Rynn apoligized to the stranger. "I  
thought you might have been a Wartok."  
  
"Uh...right." The man still seemed wary, looking at Arokh  
who was scrutinizing the man like he was some kind of bug.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Arokh," Rynn said, placing a hand  
on Arokh's shoulder. *Arokh, down,* she sent mentally.  
"And I'm Rynn."  
  
"Yeah...hi," the man said uncertainly as Arokh settled  
down. "I'm Angel."  
  
A strange name, Rynn thought, but appropriate. Now where  
had that thought come from?  
  
*Something is not right about this Angel,* Arokh sent. *He  
smells wrong.* To Angel he asked aloud, "Where are we?"  
  
Angel glanced at the giant symbols as he approached  
cautiously. Well, Rynn supposed those symbols were fairly  
well known around here, but she had never heard of them.  
And apparently, neither had Arokh.  
  
***  
  
Angel considered the facts as he readied an answer. While  
the dragon - Arokh his name was - wasn't hostile, he  
didn't seem wholly friendly either. In fact, his attitude  
kind of reminded Angel of Xander, except Arokh looked like  
he could and would toast Angel if he tried to hurt Rynn.  
  
Okay, one: Arokh and Rynn fall out of a vortex.  
  
Two: Rynn was carrying what was obviously a magic sword of  
some sort that Angel had never heard about.  
  
And three: They didn't recognize a world famous landmark.  
  
"Welcome to the city of Los Angeles," Angel said. "So,  
what...ah, brings you to this world?"  
  
Rynn suddenly broke down in tears again, Angel suddenly  
found his arms full, awkwardly trying to comfort Rynn.  
  
Arokh just huffed, looking mighty irritated.  
  
To be continued... 


	2. Angstville

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (2/6)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
Angel held the sobbing Rynn awkwardly, unsure what to do.  
A glance told him that Arokh would be no help. Angel  
wasn't sure, but the dragon seemed to be regarding him  
suspiciously.  
  
"Ah, there, there," he said, patting her back. This  
seemed to be the thing to do in the movies. He hoped.  
  
Rynn pulled away from Angel and choked back her tears,  
putting her big sword away. Arokh relaxed slightly. "I'm  
sorry," she said, "I've just...lost my brother. I'm so  
tired..."  
  
"Okay," Angel said understanding. "I've got some room.  
You can stay at my place if you like."  
  
"Oh, thank you," Rynn said. "I can't remember the last  
time I got some sleep."  
  
"That's all right. My friend and car are up this way."  
  
"What's a car?" Arokh asked.  
  
***  
  
"No, absolutely not," Cordelia said adamantly. "I'm your  
secretary Angel, NOT a babysitter." This was just not  
fair. Angel had called her to come to this godforsaken  
warehouse for this? Granted it was only a block away, but  
still!  
  
"Dragonsitter actually," Angel corrected. "The point is  
that Arokh needs someone to keep an eye on him so that he  
doesn't have anymore...accidents."  
  
"But there's a party I have just got to attend," she  
protested. "Lots of important people will be there. Why  
can't you or Doyle watch Airsick?"  
  
"Arokh. And to answer your question, I've offered Rynn a  
night's stay at my place; she needs a bath, meal and a  
good night's sleep. Second, Doyle has taken my car to a  
mechanic he knows."  
  
"What happened to your car?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"I was startled," Arokh put in. He sat in the middle of  
the main floor. "You should have warned me better."  
  
Cordy looked at Angel in askance.  
  
"Hey, the car still runs," Angel said with a kind of fake  
optimism. "It just needs a new windshield and...hood..."  
  
Cordy rolled her eyes. "Great. Sure, I'll do it, but on  
one condition." She turned to Ar-whats-his-name...the  
dragon. "You don't eat me."  
  
It's head jerked up in horror. "What kind of degenrate  
creature do you take me for, madam?!" he asked  
indignantly.  
  
"I'm sure he has better taste, Cordelia," Angel added as  
he turned to leave.  
  
"Okay then," Cordy said smugly. Then she frowned. "Hey!"  
she shouted at Angel's retreating back. "Was that an  
insult?"  
  
***  
  
"Your world is amazing," Rynn told Angel as they entered  
his apartment. "I just don't understand why you live in a  
cellar though."  
  
Angel shrugged. "It's home," he said simply. "Have a  
seat. Would you like something to eat?"  
  
"Yes, thankyou," Rynn said as she sat down on a cushioned  
bench that could have doubled as a bed. This city was  
amazing. She had never seen so many people in her life.  
And the buildings. In Rynn's world, few buildings were  
two stories tall. Fewer still were taller and they tended  
to be of a magical nature. Yet here dwellings seemed to  
commonly be three or four stories tall. And Rynn had  
glimpsed distant towers that dwarfed anything in her  
world.  
  
And the lights. There were lights everywhere. Some were  
garish in the extreme, but they lit the city like it was  
day. Oh how Delon would have delighted to see this  
world...  
  
Rynn's thoughts shied away from Delon. Best to  
concentrate on something else.  
  
"Do you have a wash basin?" Rynn asked, looking around at  
Angel's home. "I would like to wash up." Angel's home was  
luxuriously furnished by Rynn's standards. He must be a  
warrior of some sort, Rynn decided as she studied some of  
the weapons hanging on the walls. They seemed ordinary  
enough which was strange given some of the things she had  
seen in this world.  
  
"A wash basin?" Angel asked. He seemed amused at the  
notion. "I've got something better." Rynn's eyebrows rose  
questioningly. "It's called a shower."  
  
***  
  
*It's wonderful, Arokh,* Rynn sent happily. *A waterfall  
inside a house!*  
  
*I'm glad you like it,* Arokh replied. And in truth, he  
was glad that Rynn was pulling herself out of her grief.  
Still, he could sense the grief lurking.  
  
Arokh on the otherhand, was utterly miserable. He was  
trapped with a monster far worse than any he had ever  
encountered before. Even the Succubus Queen had never  
tortured him so unmercifully.  
  
"...and I have so many better places to be," the human  
girl, Cordelia was saying. "I mean, where's Doyle? It was  
soooo inconsiderate of him to go haring off..."  
  
What was it about this world? Both Angel and Doyle looked  
and acted human enough, but they smelled wrong, not human  
at all. On the other claw, this Cordelia smelled like the  
humans of Drakan, but she never...shut...up. She had an  
oppinion about everything and wasn't hesitant to share  
them. Everything seemed to revolve around her as far as  
Cordelia was concerned.  
  
She would have been boring him to tears except that  
Dragons didn't cry.  
  
"Hey, Airbutt, I asked you a question!"  
  
She did? Damn, and he had almost been successful in  
tuning her out completely. "I'm sorry, milady," Arokh  
grated out as politely as he could. Not that Cordelia  
would notice. "You were saying?"  
  
"You really ought to pay more attention when people are  
talking to you, y'know," Cordelia scolded. "As I was  
saying, I've got this party that I sooo need to attend if  
I want to become a star."  
  
"I see," Arokh said wisely. He only half understood what  
she was saying. Why would she want be a pinprick of light  
in the sky? "But did not your lord instruct you to not  
leave me to my own devices?"  
  
"Angel's my boss, not 'my lord'," Cordelia replied. "And  
I'm not stupid." Debatable but Arokh kept his peace.  
"You'll just have to come with me. So how about it?"  
Before he could reply, she went on, leading him toward  
the big doors he had come through earlier. "First, we'll  
pass you off as a big animatronic robot..."  
  
Arokh had a bad feeling about this.  
  
***  
  
While Rynn showered, Angel examined her things. She had  
discarded an absurd amount of equipment she had been  
carrying before going into the shower. Angel could see  
why; all this stuff wouldn't fit into the bathroom. Where  
did she hide all this stuff? There didn't seem to be any  
room on that form-fitting armor of hers. There were two  
broadswords, a bow, a quiver with half a dozen arrows, and  
several flasks full red, blue or yellow liquids.  
  
The swords were obviously magical. One was the glowing  
blue one that Rynn had pulled on him earlier. When he had  
tried the touch it, the sword had burned Angel's fingers  
like it was a cross. The other sword was perpetually  
clouded in red smoke. Almost too low to be heard were  
moans and screams that seem to be coming from the smoking  
sword. The demon in him stirred at an off sense of  
kinship.  
  
Angel shuddered and turned to look at something else.  
  
He locked eyes with Rynn who had just stepped out of his  
bathroom. She was wearing the robe that Angel had left in  
there with her. She looked pretty good in it. The  
question in her eyes was pretty obvious.  
  
"Uh, interesting stuff you have here," he said lamely.  
  
"Yes it is," Rynn replied. Her nose crinkled at an odor  
that filled the apartment. It looked cute. "What burned?"  
  
"Dinner. Want some fruit?" Angel gestured to a bowl of  
fruit on the table. "I'm not...a very good cook. Never  
took the time to learn."  
  
"Thankyou," Rynn said, picking up an apple. She examined  
it carefully as if she had never seen one before. Which  
was probably true, Angel thought, given that she was from  
another world. She took a tentative bite. "Aren't you  
going to have one?"  
  
"Ah, no, I already ate," Angel replied. "Before you  
arrived."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
There was silence while Rynn ate and Angel tried to  
figure out what he was supposed to do. Rynn was obviously  
grieving for a loved one, probably her brother that she  
had mentioned earlier. There was also a hint of guilt. A  
situation that Angel was not unfamiliar with.  
  
Might as well start off with small stuff.  
  
"So, um, are swords like these common in your world?"  
Angel asked.  
  
"Oh no, they're unique," Rynn replied. "The Runeblade and  
Mourn Bringer." She indicated the blue and red swords  
respectively. Sadness covered her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Angel asked concerned.  
  
"I just realized something," Rynn answered dejectedly.  
"Just about every piece of gear I have was stolen from my  
enemies. Nothing here is something I can really call my  
own."  
  
Angel eyebrows rose in surprise, but he said nothing.  
  
"Except for Arokh, I've lost just about everybody I've  
ever known," Rynn continued. "Friends, family, even my...  
brother." She looked about ready to cry again.  
  
"Hey, it's all right," Angel said, feeling like a jerk  
because he couldn't say anything better than cliches.  
"What happened?"  
  
"My village was attacked by Wartoks and Orcs." Angel  
didn't bother asking what those were. "I was the only one  
that got away. My brother, Delon, was captured and taken  
to be host for the evil spirit of Navaros. Now that I  
think about it, I'm amazed that Arohk and I actually  
fought our way through Navaros' whole army to rescue  
Delon. Rescuing my brother was the only thing that kept me  
going. But..." Rynn broke down into tears again.  
  
Angel let the tears come. She needed to get this out.  
"But?" he prodded, then added you don't have to continue  
if you don't want to."  
  
"It's all right, Angel," Rynn said, wiping her eyes. "It's  
just that when I finally found Delon, Navaros had taken  
over his body and I had to..." She couldn't quite make  
herself say it, but Angel got the idea.  
  
"You killed him," Angel said. Rynn flinched but nodded.  
"Because the thing in Delon's body was doing its...his...  
whatever best to kill you."  
  
"You make it sound so nice and neat," Rynn said. "But it  
wasn't. If I had just got there five minutes earlier..."  
  
"But you didn't," Angel told her sympathetically, "and now  
all you have is regrets and even vengeance taken doesn't  
make things right." Angel thought about Tina and how he  
couldn't save her. "I understand. I've been there."  
  
"But my brother..."  
  
"Your brother wouldn't have wanted this Navaros running  
around in his body doing all sorts of horrible things,"  
Angel told her. "Trust me, you did him a favor. If he  
cared for you as much as you care about him, I think that  
he would rather have you kill him than hurt you."  
  
"How would you know that?"  
  
"I've been there, too."  
  
***  
  
"They were here."  
  
Several armored figures stood on hill by the Hollywood  
sign, acting as lookouts and generally securing the area.  
  
The speaker was a floating and slightly transluscent top  
half of a skeleton. It wore the ragged remains of a robe  
and was speaking to one of the armored figures who wore  
a black armband.  
  
"Are they still in this world?" the Ebon Knight asked  
emotionlessly.  
  
"Oh, yes," the Death Mage replied. "Although I can't quite  
say where."  
  
"No matter, we shall find them." the Ebon Knight said.  
"And we will destroy any who gets in our way." Behind him,  
a Rift open and the first of the Blade Dragons came  
through.  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Party Time

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (3/6)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
Back during the glory years of the Order of the Flame,  
Arokh had attended a number of social functions. In his  
experience, humans would gather together to jockey for  
status, enter into agreements on all manner of things, and  
maybe attract a mate for the night. Occaisionally, a  
dragon's rider would drag his or her dragon along to a  
formal ball, mostly to impress nonriders.  
  
Arokh and the other dragons usually dreaded those  
occaisions.  
  
And now Arokh had let himself be dragged to yet another  
social function. It wasn't even his own rider that took  
him there. The human female, Cordelia, had taken him to  
a small estate with a large house. The "party" as Cordelia  
called the social function, was taking place behind the  
house around what appeared to be an artificial pond.  
  
This world was so strange. Arokh didn't comprehend half of  
what the humans were talking about. The way they spoke,  
they might be conceited enough to think they were the  
center of the cosmos. On the other claw, they openly  
acknoledged that they didn't rule any lands. And while  
most of these people smelled human, there were several  
who did not. The one called John Tesh was such a one  
though he looked perfectly normal. Then there was Rosanne  
Barr who smelled human but bore an amazing resemblance to  
the Succubus Queen.  
  
To make matters worse, Cordelia had disappeared into the  
crowd after introducing Arokh as a "fake" dragon to be  
used in something called a "movie". He gathered that he  
was supposed to be some sort of construct with a human  
riding around inside.  
  
This wouldn't be so bad except for one thing.  
  
"Ooooh, the dragon looks soooo realistic."  
  
"Are you kidding? I've seen more realistic dragons in  
Disney cartoons."  
  
Intelligent conversation would have been nice.  
  
***  
  
"Yes, I have it. The Runeblade is this way."  
  
Led by the Death Mage, two dozen Ebon and Crimson Knights  
entered the strange city. While far bigger than anything  
that had ever existed in Drakan, it was populated only by  
humans. How dangerous could they be?  
  
The lead Knight had decided to leave the Blade Dragons on  
the hill where they arrived. No need to alert their quarry  
that they were coming. Their master desired the Runeblade  
and the peasant girl who currently wielded it was  
rumored to be very dangerous, especially if she had that  
dragon with her.  
  
They were crossing one of the plentiful hard roads when  
they ran into their first problem. A huge metal beast with  
glowing eyes running on wheels, far larger than most on  
the roads, barreled screaming into one of the Crimson  
Knights. Another Knight reacted instinctively; he pulled  
out a flaming spear and cast it into middle of the beast's  
tubular body, just forward of a stylized flame sigil.  
  
The fireball engulfed them all.  
  
***  
  
Rynn was finally sleeping peacefully. Talking about her  
brother seemed to have relaxed her. Angel covered her  
with a blanket and let her sleep. It was nice to help  
someone without pummeling some demon or other.  
  
"Hey, Angel!"  
  
"Sshh!" Angel shushed to Doyle as the latter entered the  
apartment, then explained in a whisper, "I just got her  
to sleep. Now she needs her rest."  
  
"Oh, I see how it is," Doyle said as Angel steered him  
toward the stairs. He winked. "Bet you two want yer  
privacy, eh?"  
  
"Doyle!"  
  
"'sall right, Angel," Doyle said. "Just yankin' yer  
chain."  
  
"Uh huh, right. Was there something you wanted?" Angel  
asked.  
  
"Oh sure. Have you seen Cordelia?" Doyle replied. "I was  
hopin' to get some quality time with her, if you know what  
I mean."  
  
"She's watching Arokh," Angel told him. Then he thought  
about what he just said. "She IS watching Arokh isn't  
she?"  
  
"Well, I dunno, Angel," Doyle said slowly. "They weren't  
at the warehouse when I stopped by."  
  
"Oh, hell."  
  
"My thoughts exactly."  
  
"What's happened to Arokh?" Angel and Doyle turned to see  
Rynn sitting up and staring at them.  
  
"Um, well you see..." Angel began.  
  
"He's not at the warehouse," Doyle told her.  
  
Rynn closed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating.  
Then she relaxed and began to giggle. Angel and Doyle  
stared in confusion.  
  
"I'm sorry," Rynn finally said. "Arokh's only in danger  
of being bored to death. I like to think of it as poetic  
justice for all those times I went into mortal danger in  
those places where Arokh couldn't follow."  
  
"Huh?" the guys said brilliantly.  
  
"I have a soul bond with Arokh," Rynn explained. "So I  
kind of know what's happening to Arokh at any given  
moment. Right now, your friend Cordelia took Arokh to  
some kind of gathering."  
  
"The party," Angel said, remembering the coversation he  
had with Cordelia earlier.  
  
"Yes, I believe that's what Arokh called it," Rynn  
confirmed.  
  
"Oh hell," Angel repeated. This was going to be a long  
night.  
  
***  
  
"Kevin!"  
  
Hercules turned to see Ares of all people making his way  
through the crowd. As he was dressed in a tux and leading  
one of the omnipresent hopeful starlets, Hercules deduced  
that Ares was actually attending the party.  
  
What was he doing here?  
  
"Kevin," Ares said jovially. He was definitely up to  
something. "I'd like you to meet a very special young  
woman I met today. Kevin, this is Cordelia Chase.  
Cordelia, this is Kevin Sorbo."  
  
"Hi, Mr. Sorbo," Cordelia said brightly. "I love your TV  
show. I watch it all the time."  
  
"Uh, thank you," Hercules said. Did Ares introduce them  
to watch Hercules squirm? Couldn't be, he talked to all  
these hopeful young starlets every time he went to these  
parties.  
  
"Yeah," Cordelia went on, "I just love Hunk To Please."  
  
Ares snickered.  
  
"Hercules," Hercules corrected. He was beginning to have  
serious doubts about Cordelia's chances at success in this  
business.  
  
"Right, that too."  
  
Ares was obviously fighting a losing battle to keep from  
laughing. Idly, Hercules wondered what Ares was calling  
himself at this party.  
  
"So how did you two meet?" Hercules asked.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Warsaw liked my dragon," Cordelia told him. "He  
said he could use it in a movie he was producing." That  
explained what Ares was doing here, but...  
  
"You brought the dragon?" Hercules asked, surprised.  
  
"Well, he's not really my dragon," Cordelia went on. "I  
borrowed him...it from a friend. It's a big animatronic  
robot y'know."  
  
The hell it was! Hercules could see right away that it  
was the real thing. Although he had never actually met a  
dragon that could hold a civilized conversation (and  
Hollywood chatter barely qualified), Cordelia's dragon  
seemed to be doing all right. At least, he wasn't toasting  
anybody yet.  
  
"So, Mister Sorbo," Cordelia began, "there wouldn't happen  
to be an opening on your show is there?"  
  
"Ah, no," Hercules replied. "Actually, the show is being  
canceled. I felt I needed to move on to better things."  
  
"Isn't that a shame," Ares put in sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, that's nice," Cordelia said, visibly losing all  
interest in Hercules. She turned and locked eyes  
elsewhere. "Margo!" she called, moving away. "You don't  
call, you don't write..."  
  
"What are you up to, Ares?" Hercules asked accusingly.  
  
"Moi? I'm making a movie," Ares said with mock innocence.  
"It's going to be an action flick with blood and guts."  
  
"So what's the dragon doing here?"  
  
"Not my doing, brother," Ares replied. "The dragon's here  
and he's got some...ahem, 'friends' looking for him. Now,  
I gotta go mingle."  
  
"Wonderful," Hercules muttered as Ares disappeared into  
the crowd.  
  
***  
  
Amazingly enough, about half of the Knights managed to  
survive fireball. Oh, some of them had to drag themselves  
out of the crater, but they survived. A good many of them  
had to drink most of their health potions to get back into  
fighting condition.  
  
The Death Mage counted two Ebon and ten Crimson Knights  
left. The Mage himself had survived more or less intact  
because he had been the farthest from the explosion.  
  
"Hmm, seeing as how your leader is nowhere to be found, I  
shall take command here," the Death Mage told the Knights.  
"Any objections? No? Good. Let's get back on the hunt. It  
is getting far to crowded here." He indicated the  
gathering humans.  
  
"Oh and do be careful the next time we run into anything  
strange," the Death Mage added. "We don't want anymore  
accidents now."  
  
There was no reply or expression from the Knights. But  
their auras definitely showed embarrasment.  
  
***  
  
B.A. Baracus pulled his taxi over to pick up the trio.  
They were an odd trio, but then again, this was Los  
Angeles. All kind of wierd sorts came here. One guy in a  
black duster, a man dressed like a cheap acting agent, and  
some cute chick in formfitting leather simply did not  
qualify as strange in this town.  
  
They got in the cab without a word. The man in the black  
duster ushered the chick into the front passenger seat  
then got into the back with the other guy. Now that was  
strange.  
  
"Where to?" B.A. asked without preamble.  
  
"Rynn?" black duster guy said to the chick.  
  
Rynn closed her eyes for a few seconds then pointed in a  
seemingly random direction. "That way," she said. She was  
pointing off the road at some location far away.  
  
"Hey, lady, I can't drive through no buildings," B.A.  
complained.  
  
"Just zigzag through the streets in the general direction  
Rynn points," black duster guy told him. "We'll eventually  
get to wherever we're going."  
  
"Uh huh, right," B.A. said. Just his luck to get some  
crazy fools. It almost made him nostalgic for Murdoch and  
his days with the Team.  
  
Almost.  
  
***  
  
The humans seemed to have lost interest in Arokh. That was  
fine with him. He could do without their chattering at him  
and was content to observe their interactions.  
  
"Hi, there. I'm Kevin Sorbo."  
  
Arokh sighed wearily. It had been too good to last.  
  
"Greetings. I am Arokh the Animatronic Dragon," Arokh said  
monotonously. By this time, the phrase had become routine.  
Oddly, he found that enhanced the illusion that he was a  
construct.  
  
"Oh, I don't think so," Kevin Sorbo replied. "I think  
you're a real dragon."  
  
Startled, Arokh examined Sorbo closely. He looked well  
built in comparison to the other humans. Sorbo was one of  
those strange smelling humans, though. And he definitely  
seemed more intelligent than anyone else here.  
  
"C'mon, let's go somewhere we can talk in private," Sorbo  
suggested.  
  
Arokh nodded and followed Sorbo.  
  
***  
  
"That way," Rynn pointed. She was pleased that they  
seemed to be getting closer. Everytime they reached an  
intersection, Rynn would point which way Arokh was and  
the large taxi driver would either go straight or turn  
depending on which would bring them closer to Arokh.  
  
Taxi driving must be a prosperous profession in this  
world, Rynn thought absently. Either that or gold  
necklaces must be very inexpensive. The driver's neck was  
completely hidden by them.  
  
The taxi turned the corner and skidded to a halt. There,  
illuminated by the headlights was an armored figure  
holding a flaming spear.  
  
"That's a Crimson Knight!" Rynn exclaimed. What was one of  
them doing on this world?  
  
Without uttering a word, the Knight threw its spear right  
at Rynn. Unable to dodge in the confines of the taxi, Rynn  
winced as the spear shattered against the windshield. The  
windshield held, although spiderweb cracked spread through  
it.  
  
"My taxi!" the driver exclaimed. "That fool damaged my  
taxi!" Furiously, the driver opened the door and scrambled  
out, drawing a strange object from under his seat. Rynn  
presumed it was weapon.  
  
"Everybody out," Doyle quipped as he, Angel, and Rynn  
exitted the taxi.  
  
"There's only one of them," Rynn told them. "Shouldn't be  
a problem. I've killed enough of them."  
  
At that moment eleven other Knights stepped out of the  
shadows, surrounding them.  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Streetfight

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (4/6)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
"Angel," Rynn hissed as she pulled Mourn Blade out of  
seeming nowhere. "Can you use a sword?" The Knights made  
no move to attack. Having them surrounded, the Knights  
apparently didn't see the need to.  
  
"Yes," Angel replied reluctantly, flashing back to the  
last time he was in a sword fight. "But..."  
  
"Good," Rynn interupted, tossing Mourn Blade to him. Angel  
caught the smoking red sword easily. At contact, his inner  
demon seem to grow stronger. It was a struggle not to let  
himself vamp out. Immediately after tossing Angel the  
sword, Rynn reached behind her back again and drew the  
Runeblade.  
  
Idly and not for the first time, Angel wondered how she  
did that.  
  
"Hey, who are you suckas?" their taxi driver bellowed at  
the Knights. He waved an AK-47 at the Knights. When did  
taxi drivers carry those? That was an extreme even for  
Los Angeles. For that matter, how had he fitted that thing  
under his seat? "You don' wanna mess with B.A. Baracus!"  
  
"We are members of the Dark Union," a voice said from the  
shadows. Angel's excellent night vision spotted a ragged  
figure floating there. "And we have come to retrieve our  
property. If you give it to us peacefully, you will not be  
harmed."  
  
Yeah, right. "And just what do you want?" Angel asked as  
he sized up the opposition. He didn't know much about the  
Knights' actual combat skills and strengths, but Angel  
could see that they were armored from head to toe. Worse,  
most of them were weilding flaming swords. Vampires, which  
Angel happened to be, were very vulnerable to fire.  
  
"Why, we want the Runeblade," the shadowy figure answered.  
"The girl stole it from us."  
  
"It didn't belong to you," Rynn growled. "I will not give  
up the Runeblade as long as I live."  
  
"You'll have to get through me first before you get to  
her," Angel said with more bravado than he felt.  
  
"Hey, no one shakes down MY passengers!" B.A. added.  
  
Silence reigned. All eyes slid towards Doyle. "Uh, ah, um,  
can I take a raincheck?" he finally said. "I'll get back  
to you guys later in, like say...a thousand years?"  
  
"Heroes," the shadowy figure muttered exasperated, then  
ordered the Knights, "Kill them."  
  
***  
  
After locating the third secluded spot in the woods and  
determining that it wasn't in use (the first two, they  
discovered, were being used for some kind of mating  
rituals), Arokh and Kevin Sorbo settled down to talk.  
  
"Ah, it is a pleasure to be away from that 'party'," Arokh  
commented as he relaxed. "I never liked such formal  
gatherings. They seemed to lower the intelligence of even  
the smartest humans down to the level of an orc."  
  
"I know what you mean," Sorbo agreed. "I wouldn't even  
have been here, but my agent seems to think its good for  
my acting career."  
  
"Indeed." Arokh regarded the night sky. The cloud cover  
was dissipating, revealing unfamiliar stars. "Perhaps I  
did not introduce myself. I am Arokh of the Order of the  
Flame." He sighed sadly at the memory.  
  
"Well, as long as we're introducing ourselves by our real  
names, I'm Hercules."  
  
"Indeed?" Arokh regarded this strange human closely. "Why  
do you name yourself Kevin Sorbo to the other humans?"  
  
"Well, most people in the world recognize the name of  
Hercules," the human said modestly. "I could do without  
the attention that would bring."  
  
Considering the type of humans back at the party, Arokh  
understood the sentiment perfectly.  
  
"Since the name of Hercules is world famous," Hercules  
began, "how come you don't recognize it. In my experience,  
most monsters have heard of me, too."  
  
"Ah, well, there you have me," Arokh replied. "I'm not  
from this world. I come from another."  
  
"Is that a fact?" Hercules said, intrigued. "Tell me  
more."  
  
***  
  
The Death Mage was incredibly pleased with himself. They  
had been lucky after the, er...accident with the road  
beast. Avoiding humans and road beasts alike, they had  
suffered no more losses. Tracking the distinctive energies  
emitted by the Void Crystal that formed the Runeblade's  
pommel, the Death Mage was surprised when it started  
moving in their direction. He was even more surprised and  
pleased when he discovered that the dragon wasn't with the  
peasant wench. Instead, there were only three other humans  
with her, and only two looked as if they were warriors of  
any sort. Surely they couldn't stand up to twelve Knights  
and himself.  
  
But just in case, he summoned the Blade Dragons anyway.  
They would probably arrive after the fight was won, but a  
ride back would be nice. Then he initiated negotiations  
which as expected, failed. No matter, he gave the order to  
kill the humans.  
  
And was startled badly by the loud rattling noise that  
followed. He was even more shocked when a Crimson Knight  
reeled from invisible blows then faded from existance  
before he even hit the ground.  
  
For an instant, the Death Mage and the Knights were frozen  
in surprise. Then the humans were among them, blades  
swinging.  
  
***  
  
"So, after defeating this Navaros guy," Hercules said,  
"you and your rider dived down the Rift and wound up here.  
Just how did you wind up with Miss Chase as your rider?"  
It made a fascinating story. Maybe he could pitch the idea  
to his producer.  
  
"Cordelia Chase is NOT my rider," Arokh replied insulted.  
"I would rather be a slave to the Dark Union than let THAT  
human be soul bonded to me."  
  
"Then why did you come to the party with her?"  
  
"Upon our arrival, some humans greeted us and offered us  
shelter," Arokh told him. "They took us in and gave us  
rest. However, the man's home was too small for me, so  
they took me elsewhere and set Cordelia Chase as my  
keeper." Arokh looked thoughtful. "Although I detected no  
duplicity, mayhap they thought that I would grow so weary  
of her company that I would kill her."  
  
"That bad, huh?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
***  
  
Angel reached a Crimson Knight first. Startled by B.A.'s  
gunfire, the Knight was slow in reacting. Just as it  
began to raise its twin flaming swords, Angel beheaded the  
Knight with a single stroke.  
  
There was nothing inside but a wisp of smoke.  
  
Having seen (and caused) stranger things in his long life,  
Angel ignored it immediately went after the next Knight.  
This one was ready for Angel. Angel locked blades with the  
Knight. Immediately it became apparent that Angel was the  
stronger of the two. Twisting the blades around and  
flipped the Knight onto its back. Freeing Mourn Blade,  
Angel kicked another Knight that was coming at them and  
impaled the prone one with the sword.  
  
The sword pulled energy from the fallen Knight and  
conducted it into Angel. It was an almost vampiric effect.  
The demon in Angel drank it in greedily and exulted in  
it. Angel felt it well up inside...  
  
Which was when he got hit by lightning.  
  
***  
  
"I have a question to ask you, Hercules," Arokh began.  
"It has been bothering me for sometime, but I thought it  
impolite to ask."  
  
"Ask away," Hercules replied. He wondered if he could get  
Arokh and his friend, Rynn hoom. Maybe if he called in a  
few favors...  
  
"Ever since I arrived on this world, I keep meeting these  
humans who smell, well, strange," Arokh said. "Like you  
for example. Pardon me if I offend, but could you perhaps  
tell me why that is?"  
  
Hercules didn't answer right away as he weighed his  
response. He might as well tell the truth; Arokh knew his  
real name.  
  
"That's because I'm not completely human," he told Arokh.  
  
***  
  
"C'mon, I'm n-not afraid of you," Doyle stammered to three  
Knights facing him. This was just great. Here he was in  
the middle of a brawl and all he had to fight with were  
his fists. To make matters worse, he was the only one  
without a weapon.  
  
He didn't even consider using his demonic aspect.  
  
The three Knights sized him up for a second. Then the  
middle one stepped forward towards Doyle. The other two  
moved to help there fellows.  
  
"Oh, now I'm just insulted," Doyle said. His Knight raised  
both flaming swords. Doyle rushed in and delivered a  
ringing blow to the Knight's helmet. "Owowowowowowow!" He  
came away clutching his sore fist.  
  
The Knight paused to let his helmet stop vibrating,  
allowing Doyle to back away a safe distance. Then it  
stepped forward to make charred confetti out of him.  
  
Doyle, finding himself backed against the taxi, did the  
only thing he could think of. He climbed on top of the  
taxi.  
  
And then lightning shattered the night.  
  
***  
  
"You're a demigod?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"So the other strange smelling 'humans' are also  
demigods?"  
  
"Not really. If you're right about the smell, then they  
might be full fledged gods, demons, fairies or other  
things."  
  
"What a strange world where nonhumans masquerade as  
humans."  
  
"It's a survival trait."  
  
***  
  
Rynn dodged a swing from a Crimson Knight and returned a  
blow of her own, cutting deep through the armor but not  
fatally. She didn't have time to follow up as two other  
Knights swung at her. She leaped and dodged.  
  
As much as she'd like to, Rynn couldn't mentally summon  
Arokh. She had to concentrate entirely on the situation at  
hand. There were far too many Crimson Knights for her  
tastes.  
  
Lightning flashed, momentarily blinding her. Lightning  
meant Ebon Knights. Cursing she leapt away from where she  
had seen any Knights and banged her head against one of  
the metal poles that lined the streets here.  
  
She stood up unsteadily and and blinked her eyes clear.  
The Crimson Knights weren't pressing in on her. Why...?  
  
Her half formed question was answered when a magic missile  
knocked her off her feet.  
  
***  
  
Arokh roared in pain. Something had injured his rider and  
Arokh felt it through their mental link. Cursing himself  
for a fool, he spread his wings to take off.  
  
"Arokh, what is..." Hercules began.  
  
"Rynn is in trouble," Arokh told him. "My apologies,  
Hercules, but I must go to her aid!"  
  
"Take me with you," Hercules told him. "I can help."  
  
"None but the one I am soul bonded with may ride me,"  
Arokh replied firmly.  
  
Hercules thought about it for a half second before he had  
an idea. "There might be an alternative..."  
  
***  
  
B.A. pumped emptied his last few remaining rounds into a  
Knight. The Knight fell back and faded away. That made  
three he had accounted for tonight. Unfortunately, his  
extra ammo magazines were in the cab. On the bright side,  
no Knights were coming at him at the moment.  
  
However weird these guys in armor were, bullets would  
still stop them. B.A. took slight comfort in that. A quick  
look around showed him that the chick and black duster  
guy were holding there own, though black duster guy looked  
a might singed. However, B.A.'s remaining passenger was  
climbing on top of his taxi, trying to keep from being  
skewered by a Knight. The Knight had his back to him.  
  
"Hey, sucka!" B.A. growled, placing a hand on the Knight's  
shoulder and spinning it around to face B.A. Before the  
Knight could react, B.A. slammed one fist across the  
Knight's helmet. Ow! That was hard stuff. The helmet spun  
a 180 and came to rest backwards. Suddenly blinded the  
Knight instictively dropped his swords to try and correct  
the problem. With both hands, B.A. physically hauled the  
Knight over his head and flung the Knight to the pavement.  
The Knight landed with a loud clang, stunned.  
  
That done, he retrieved some magazines from the cab.  
  
***  
  
Arokh flew through the night L.A. sky, homing in on Rynn's  
position. No one rode on his back.  
  
"I never would have thought of this, Hercules," he said.  
"I congradulate you."  
  
"Just don't let go," the demigod replied, dangling from  
Arokh's claws. "And don't squeeze to hard."  
  
***  
  
The human weilding the legendary Mourn Blade was good. To  
the Ebon Knight however, it was sacrilege for any but the  
leader of all Knights, Ebon or Crimson, to weild it. The  
Ebon Knight meant to take it away from this impertinent  
human.  
  
Seeing then human withstand a lightning bolt and barely  
flinch, the Ebon Knight began to have his doubts.  
  
A Crimson Knight attacked the human from behind. In a  
single motion, the human dodged, grabbed the attacking  
Knight with one hand, and flung him into the other Ebon  
Knight. The two went down in a heap.  
  
The Ebon Knight readied his Dark Scimitars. While no  
Mourn Blade, they should suffice. He parried the first  
blow the human made with his left Scimitar and drove the  
other into the human's heart.  
  
For an instant, the Ebon Knight exulted in his victory.  
Then he noticed that the human wasn't falling over dead.  
In fact, the human was growling at him. His eyes glowed  
yellow, his fore herhead was rigid, and he had fangs.  
  
Too late, the Knight realized that he wasn't facing a  
human at all. Then Angel tore his arm off.  
  
***  
  
Rynn leaned against the lightpole. She could barely lift  
the Runeblade, but she wasn't about to give up. She pulled  
out a healing potion. A ghostly skull ripped it out of her  
hands.  
  
"Now we can't have that," said a Death Mage who appeared  
behind the three Crimson Knights confronting her. "It  
might interfere with you dying a horrible painful death."  
The Knights advanced.  
  
*Arokh,* she sent desperately, *where are you?*  
  
In reply, a string of fireballs blasted the Knight on her  
left. A large man with long hair ran past her, grabbed a  
startled Knight and lifted it off the ground like he  
weighed nothing. Inverting the Crimson Knight, the  
stranger drove the Knight head first into the pavement  
with a force strong enough to drive the helmet into the  
torso. The taxi driver's noise weapon roared and the last  
Knight dropped, gaping holes torn in his back.  
  
Rynn took the opportunity to ingest a blue Life Potion.  
Immediately, all her injuries were healed and she felt  
ready to fight. Trouble was, there was no one left.  
  
"Having fun?"  
  
Rynn turned to see Arokh right there beside her. "You  
look refreshed," she said to the dragon sarcastically.  
  
Arokh just huffed.  
  
"You all right?" the newcomer asked. He was accompanied by  
Doyle and the taxi driver.  
  
"I'm fine," Rynn said. "Where's..." Then she saw him.  
Angel was fighting an Ebon Knight and obviously winning.  
However, the last Crimson Knight was sneaking up behind  
him. "Angel!" Sprinting past the others, Rynn rushed  
straight at the Crimson Knight. Rynn raised her sword to  
strike. So did the Knight.  
  
***  
  
Aboard the USS Nimitz, the duty officer spotted something  
on his radar. After double checking his equipment, there  
was no doubt that about two dozen unknowns were flying  
in formation over Los Angeles air space well below the  
designated air ways.  
  
He informed the next higher up.  
  
Over L.A., twenty-four Blade Dragons flew, ready to  
destroy anything that stood between them and the Rune  
Blade.  
  
  
To be continued. 


	5. Taking out the trash

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (5/6)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
"I have it confirmed, sir," Lt. Donald Leduc, the radar  
operator said. "Two vee formations of twelve unknowns  
each, heading south over L.A. airspace at a leisurely  
twelve knots."  
  
There was silence for a moment as everyone in the Nimitz's  
ops room digested the information. One man, a civilian  
that was obviously high ranking and belonging to some  
three lettered organization, turned to the Nimitz's  
captain.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"He confirmed the that the unknowns are really out there,"  
the Captain told him, then added under his breath. "I  
think."  
  
Donald didn't add anything. From birth, he had been cursed  
with a speech impediment that rendered anything he tried  
to say almost unintelligible. The only people who could  
understand him readily were his rich uncle and three  
nephews.  
  
"Hmm, do you have any pilots available?" the civilian  
asked.  
  
"Most everyone is on shore leave," the Captain replied,  
"but I think we can scrounge up a couple people."  
  
"Then let's send them to investigate," the civilian said,  
taking a long draw from his cigarette.  
  
***  
  
Rynn drove the Runeblade straight through the Crimson  
Knight's back. With a ghostly howl, the Knight collapsed  
and faded from existance.  
  
Meanwhile, Angel was beating on his Ebon Knight with  
surprising savagery. Only every other blow connected. The  
Ebon Knight kept phasing out, the Mourn Blade passing  
through its ethereal form. The Knight couldn't fade for  
long though; when it rematerialized, Angel's returning  
stroke bit into it. Rynn had never seen such an amazing  
combination of strength, speed, and endurance.  
  
And then it was over. With a final blow, the last Knight  
collapsed and vanished. Angel just stood there, his back  
to Rynn, staring at the spot where the Ebon Knight had  
been. Mourn Blade hung loosely in his grip.  
  
"Angel, I think we've..." Rynn began, placing her free  
hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Don't touch me!" Angel growled at her, roughly shrugging  
off her touch. He seemed to be hiding his face from her.  
  
"Angel?" she said tentatively. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Rynn, but..." He paused as if struggling with  
the right words. "This sword of yours...it brings things  
out in me that...well, you don't want to see." With some  
obvious effort, Angel forced himself to let go; Mourn  
Blade clattered to the street.  
  
"Oh, nonsense," Rynn said impetuously. "You helped me. Now  
I guess it's my turn to help you." Putting her hand back  
on Angel's shoulder and spun him to face her.  
  
"By the gods!" Rynn exclaimed upon seeing the twisted  
mask that Angel's face had become. Leaping back, Rynn put  
up her sword at the ready. "What are you?"  
  
The man who had arrived with Arokh suddenly appeared at  
her side. "He's a vampire," the man said, looking none to  
happy.  
  
***  
  
Two F-14 Tomcats cruised above the two formations of  
Blade Dragons. In order to keep pace with the beasts, the  
two jet fighters had to slow down almost to the point  
where their engines would stall.  
  
"Heathcliff, this is Garfield," the first Tomcat pilot  
radioed. "Do you see what I see?" Someone must have been  
drunk when they picked these callsigns, the pilot thought  
not for the first time.  
  
"Garfield, this is Heathcliff, I see them," the other  
pilot replied. "What do you think? Is this a publicity  
stunt? Maybe Speilberg is making a new movie."  
  
Gibberish warbled in "Garfield"'s ear. Great, Leduc must  
be on traffic control tonight. But the pilot got the gist  
of the message. "Topcat, this is Garfield," he called back  
to the Nimitz. "I have visual contact with what appears to  
be two flights of the ugliest dragons ever imagined flying  
south by southeast roughly two hundred meters below me.  
Requesting OH S***!!!" Something glowing green just sailed  
past the nose of his plane.  
  
The two Tomcats immediately evaded as one flight of Blade  
Dragons attacked.  
  
***  
  
"So you see," Doyle summed up, "Angel's a good vampire  
now. You don't have to kill him or anything."  
  
"Oh, you poor, poor creature," Rynn said to Angel. And she  
thought she had problems! At least she didn't have one  
hundred years of guilt to live with. "How do you live with  
it?" she asked as she put away Mourn Blade.  
  
Mourn Blade's disappearance seemed to calm Angel. His face  
changed back to its human form. "I get by," Angel told her  
sadly.  
  
"Huh. A vampire with a soul," Arokh's friend mused. "Will  
wonders never cease."  
  
"'scuse me, but aren't you Kevin Sorbo?" Doyle asked.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Great! I just love your show. Can I get an autograph?"  
Doyle asked.  
  
"Er..."  
  
"Who's Kevin Sorbo?" Angel asked perplexed as Rynn felt.  
  
"Don't you watch TV, man?" Doyle asked insulted.  
  
"No," Angel replied simply.  
  
"Uh, while my career might be interesting, can I ask a  
question?" Without waiting for a reply, Sorbo pointed into  
the sky. "What are those?"  
  
Everyone looked up.  
  
"Blade Dragons!" Rynn cried in horror.  
  
***  
  
"And where do you think you're goin', sucka?"  
  
The Death Mage found himself staring down the barrel of  
the noise weapon that had so easily dispatched several  
Crimson Knights.  
  
"Beware, human," the Death Mage intoned without showing  
an ounce of fear that he felt. "You know not what forces  
you are dealing with."  
  
"Perhaps," rumbled a voice above him. The Death Mage  
looked up and saw the dragon looking down at him. "But the  
human is intelligent enough to know who his enemies are.  
And he happens to hold a powerful weapon in his hands."  
  
"You got that right, sucka," the human added.  
  
"Ah, quite," the dragon continued. "Perhaps you would be  
so good as to tell us why and how you are here in this  
place."  
  
"Or what? You'll kill me?" the Death Mage sneered.  
  
"Indeed," the dragon agreed. It examined its own claws  
closely. "Of course, your demise may either be quick...or  
lengthy. Your choice of course."  
  
"Er, um..." Where were those Blade Dragons? It's just like  
them to be late. "Ah, we followed you through the Rift..."  
  
"Please," Arokh yawned. There was a hint of flame there.  
"Tell me something I do not know."  
  
"Uh...we seek the Runeblade."  
  
"You already told us that, fool," the human prodded.  
  
"Oh, pizzles! My master wants the Runeblade, because with  
it, he can open Rifts to any world. All these worlds, not  
just Drakan, will be open for him to conquer!" the Death  
Mage babbled.  
  
"Interesting," the dragon said thoughtfully. "Tell us  
more."  
  
"No! I will not!" the Death Mage cackled. "For behold! My  
reinforcements!"  
  
The dragon and human turned to see the arrival of the  
first wave of Blade Dragons. While they were distracted,  
the Death Mage slipped away into the shadows. Even this  
combined group of would be heroes were no match for this  
many Blade Dragons.  
  
Then the lead Blade Dragon exploded.  
  
***  
  
Blade Dragons were a twisted parody of true dragons. By  
horrendous magical means, bird and dragon were combined  
to produce this horror. Their breath weapon was a blast  
of vile poison, capable of harming any creature with its  
clinging touch. Their hides were covered with metallic  
feathers, which provided excellent protection against  
attacks. At least, they did on Drakan.  
  
On Earth, their metal feathers reflected radar pulses  
with great efficiency. Thus, the radar of the USS Nimitz  
easily spotted them. So did the Tomcats. So did the  
targeting radar of their AMRAAM missiles.  
  
If the Blade Dragons had been entirely organic like, say,  
Arokh, radar would never have spotted them.  
  
The Tomcats fired off AMRAAMs as if the Navy had bought  
them at a garage sale. For every missile fired, a Blade  
Dragon exploded. The Tomcats moved far too fast for the  
Blade Dragons to hit them, dodging in and out of their  
rapidly disintegrating formation.  
  
That was not to say the the Blade Dragons didn't hit the  
Tomcats at all. On the contrary, due to sheer numbers,  
they actually landed a few hits. But being machines, the  
Tomcats weren't bothered in the least by organic poisons.  
And their cockpits were sealed against chemical attacks  
anyway.  
  
When Garfield and Heathcliff ran out of missiles, there  
were still eight Blade Dragons left. That was all right.  
The Tomcats still had their twenty millimeter cannons.  
  
***  
  
The civilian listened to the battle report. Exhaling a  
noxious cloud of cigarette smoke, he told the Nimitz's  
captain and the radar operator, "I was never here." It  
was time to call the clean up crew. Maybe Agent Mulder  
will stumble over this one too.  
  
With that he departed as mysteriously as he came.  
  
***  
  
"Impressive," Arokh murmured as he and his allies gathered  
together. With such weapons as these, what could this  
world fear from Navaros and his ilk? Never had he seen so  
many dark creatures dispached so easily.  
  
"Thank the U.S. Navy," Angel added as the F-14s streaked  
by overhead.  
  
"Hey, it might be a good idea if we all snuck off  
somewhere private," Hercules suggested. "Someone is bound  
to come investigate." He gestured around them. The taxi  
was a wreck. Lights were coming on in the surrounding  
buildings. "I don't think we want to be answering any  
awkward questions."  
  
"Er, I know a good place," Doyle said.  
  
  
To be continued... 


	6. Goodbyes

Title: A Dragon in Hollywood (6/6)  
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author  
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com  
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.  
Spoilers: Anything in the Buffyverse goes. Also contains  
spoilers for the PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.  
Summary: Angel helps latest arrivals to Los Angeles.  
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They  
belong to people that I'm too lazy to look up.  
  
  
Barney stumbled out of the bar, half full beer bottle in  
hand. He was completely drunk, his prefered state of  
mind. Too bad the bartender back there wouldn't serve him  
any more beer. What kind of bartender was he, anyway? The  
beer wasn't even very potent. Back in Springfield, Moe  
would just keep serving him better beer than this stuff.  
  
Leaning against a lightpole, he watched a beat up taxi  
roll by. Right behind it, a big red dragon galloped with  
a pretty girl riding its back.  
  
Barney eyed his beer bottle suspiciously.  
  
When he looked up, the dragon was gone, but he saw half a  
skeleton float by.  
  
Barney looked at his beer bottle again.  
  
When he looked up again, the street was empty. Huh. Maybe  
this beer was more potent than he thought. He took  
another gulp from the bottle. Maybe there wass more in  
this town.  
  
***  
  
"Ah, home sweet home," Doyle said grandly.  
  
"It's a warehouse, fool," B.A. grumbled.  
  
"To you and me maybe," Doyle replied unperterbed. "But  
to Arokh, it's roomy and better heated than a cave. And  
why are you in a bad mood?"  
  
"My taxi's wrecked," B.A. complained indicating the dents  
and cracked windshield. "It's goin' to take me a while to  
fix all this."  
  
"Hey, I know a good mechanic," Doyle said. "Isn't that  
right, Angel?"  
  
"I don't know," Angel said. "I haven't got my car back."  
  
***  
  
"Hrm, that Death Mage said that his master wanted the  
Runeblade," Arokh told Rynn and Hercules as Angel  
rejoined them. "No doubt this master will try to seize  
the Runeblade again."  
  
"Who is this mysterious master?" Rynn wondered aloud. "It  
couldn't be Navaros could it? We killed him." She paused  
for a moment. "We did kill him didn't we?"  
  
"In my experience, sometimes dead bad guys don't stay  
dead," Sorbo mused aloud.  
  
"Where did you get that kind of experience, Mr. Sorbo?"  
Angel asked curious.  
  
"Well...ah..."  
  
"Where have Doyle and the Mr. Baracus gone?" Arokh  
interupted.  
  
"Oh, uh, Doyle took him to get his taxi fixed," Angel  
replied. "So..."  
  
"Rynn, perhaps we should make plans for our next  
encounter with minions of the Dark Union," Arokh  
suggested.  
  
Rynn looked at Arokh bewildered. She knew he wasn't fond  
of Angel, but since when was he deliberately rude? "I've  
been thinking about that," Rynn said slowly. "I don't  
think we can stay in this world. We should really get  
back to Drakan."  
  
"How?" Arokh asked. "The Runeblade can open an existing  
Rift, but not create a Rift out of nothing."  
  
"Well, I can personally attest that there are some on  
Earth here and there," Sorbo put in.  
  
"How do you know that?" Angel asked. There was more to  
Kevin Sorbo than being an actor.  
  
"I had my sciptwriters use some of them on my show." That  
was a neat nonanswer.  
  
"Maybe I can use the Runeblade to locate a nearby Rift,"  
Rynn thought aloud. She pulled out the Runeblade and  
concentrated her gaze on the Void Crystal that formed its  
pommel. "Yes...yes, there is a Rift. It's a distance  
away, to the north, but I think Arokh can fly there in a  
day."  
  
"Then we must be on our way immediately," Arokh said.  
  
***  
  
"This is all?" Kate Lockley asked the police officer.  
  
"Yes, detective," the officer replied. "We got reports  
of some kind of fight took place here with several people  
killed. But all we found were these."  
  
Kate examined the Dark Scimitar. It was made from some  
black metal and inscribed with undecipherable red runes.  
She also noticed something else.  
  
"These aren't going to fit in the standard sandwich bags  
are they?" she asked.  
  
"No, ma'am."  
  
"Excuse me, Detective Lockley?" Kate turned to see a pair  
of suits approach her, obvious government types.  
  
"That's me. Can I help you gentlemen?" Kate asked  
cautiously. You never knew with feds.  
  
"Yes I'm Agent Black, Division Six," the first suit said.  
He was a middle aged caucasian. The other was a younger  
black man, probably his partner. "This is Agent White."  
Even to Kate, that was obviously not their real names.  
"Can you tell us what happened here?"  
  
As Kate related what she knew, she wondered who these two  
really worked for. For that matter, what the hell was  
Division Six?  
  
Then she forgot about it.  
  
***  
  
"Angel," Rynn said. "I just wanted to thank you..."  
  
"No thanks necessary, Rynn," Angel told her. "It's what I  
do. I...have alot to make up for."  
  
"So Doyle said." She leaned forward and planted a kiss on  
his cheek. "But you have my thanks anyway."  
  
"Rynn!" Arokh called impatiently.  
  
"Coming!" she called back. "Anyway, if you're ever in  
Drakan..."  
  
"IF I'm ever in Drakan, I'd be in serious trouble," Angel  
said seriously. Then with a hint of a smile, "but I'll  
look you up just the same."  
  
"You're sweet."  
  
"Rynn!" Arokh called again.  
  
***  
  
Angel and Kevin Sorbo watched as Arokh vanished into the  
L.A. smog. It was one of the more interesting encounters  
in his life.  
  
Still there were a few questions he'd like to ask Sorbo.  
But when he turned to ask them, Sorbo had vanished.  
  
"Hmm," Angel mused aloud. "So that was it feels like."  
  
***  
  
"That dragon is soooo inconsiderate," Cordelia complained  
as Angel entered the office.  
  
"Really?" Angel prompted.  
  
"Yeah, he left the party early without telling me,"  
Cordelia told him. "Do you know how embarrasing that was.  
Where is that dragon anyway? I an going to give him a  
peice of my mind!"  
  
"Oh, he and Rynn went off to find a Rift," Angel replied,  
amused. It was ironic that Cordy was complaining about  
Arokh going places without telling her when she took  
Arokh to a party without informing Angel.  
  
"What's a Rift?" Cordy asked irritably.  
  
"It's like a flaw in spacetime," Angel said absently. "If  
you got the right spells or artifacts, you can open a  
passage to another world."  
  
"You mean like the Hellmouth?"  
  
"Yeah, like the..." Angel froze, suddenly realizing  
something. Rynn said that there was a Rift to the north.  
But Sunnydale was to the north, too.  
  
Angel reached for the phone.  
  
The End...for now... 


End file.
